No Jail Time For Babysitter Accused Of Having Sex With 14-Year-Old Boys

MIDDLETOWN — Loni Bouchard, a babysitter who was charged with having sex with underage boys two years ago, was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison — all of which was suspended — and two years of probation.

Judge David P. Gold, noting that the office of probation and the family of one of the victims supported a no-jail sentence, said justice could be served with a fully suspended sentence.

"I am impressed by what appears to me a greater level of maturity by Ms. Bouchard," he said.

Bouchard is barred from having contact with boys under 16 and cannot be in touch with either of the victims.

"I'm really sorry to the victim and their families," Bouchard said. "This will never happen again."

She had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor.

Her attorney, Jack O'Donnell, said her crime was one of immaturity and opportunity. A mental health evaluation of Bouchard determined that she is not attracted to teenage boys but made bad choices.

Reading from the evaluation, O'Donnell said Bouchard needs to become comfortable with her role as an adult and put her adolescence behind her.

Bouchard was 19 when she began a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old boy she was hired to baby-sit, according to arrest warrants. The mother of the 14-year-old boy told police that she hired Bouchard, who seemed like a responsible and capable adult, in December 2010 to baby-sit her children at her home in Southington, the arrest warrants state.

In April, the mother learned that Bouchard and her 14-year-old son were in a sexual relationship after reading messages the two exchanged on Facebook, the warrants state. She confronted the boy, who told her that he had been in a relationship with Bouchard since January and that they had had sex at Bouchard's home in Clinton.

In a journal seized by police, Bouchard wrote that she was in love with the teen and that she didn't think the law should tell her who to date, the warrants state.

She also admitted to having been involved previously with another underage boy, also from Southington, the warrants state. Bouchard was arrested by Clinton police in July 2011. Charges were brought by Southington police a month later.

Last summer, Bouchard applied for pretrial psychiatric treatment, which would have allowed her to avoid conviction if she successfully completed the program. That application was withdrawn before the plea agreement, O'Donnell said.

Her mother, Kimmy Bouchard, pleaded guilty in October 2012 to risk of injury to a minor for providing the 14-year-old Clinton boy with alcohol and marijuana. She was sentenced to probation in February, according to court documents.